The Fix: February 12, 2006 - February 18, 2006

Interactive Map Just a reminder to check out the interactive elections map on washingtonpost.com every Friday for updates on key House, Senate and gubernatorial contests around the country. This week we've added four races: Vermont's At-Large House race, Tennessee's...

Colorado Rep. Joel Hefley (R) announced his retirement yesterday, becoming the second House GOPer this week to step aside prior to the November midterm elections. Hefley's announcement comes as no major surprise since he had been hinting heavily at retirement...

We wrote earlier this week on the gathering of New York. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's national finance team here in Washington. The guest list was closely guarded but The Fix managed to find out a few of the more intriguing...

The fight for the 36 governorships up for grabs in November continues to be the most entertaining campaign story line this year. Picking just the top 10 best gubernatorial takeover chances for the two parties is extremely difficult since we...

After watching the two largest progressive soft money organizations either close or contract their operations in the first half of 2005, most Democrats were pessimistic about their chances of re-creating a shadow party as they did in the 2004 presidential...

After laying out the reasons why former Vice President Al Gore should run for the nation's top office earlier this week (and receiving a massive amount of feedback), we tackle the other side of the equation -- why Gore shouldn't...

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised $33 million for her re-election bid this November, a financial show of force that not only makes her a solid favorite to win a second term but has also cemented her status...

Rep. Bill Jenkins (R) announced his retirement from his eastern Tennessee 1st district today, becoming the 14th House Republican not planning to seek re-election this November. "Serving in the Congress is a great honor and a great responsibility," Jenkins said...

The Fix gets excited when even a single 2008 presidential poll gets released, so you can imagine the thrill when the American Research Group released the results of seven -- yes SEVEN -- statewide surveys earlier this week. Primarily clumped...

There are good and bad sides to today's decision by Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett to drop out of the Ohio Senate race. On the bad side, Hackett's withdrawal statement made clear that he felt mistreated by Democratic Party leaders...

For Al Gore watchers, it's deja vu all over again as the former vice president is being talked up as a presidential candidate by the Democratic Party's chattering classes. Is Al Gore the only Democrat capable of beating Hillary Clinton...

UPDATE: Hackett made it official this morning -- he's dropping out of the Senate race. And from his statement below, he won't be challenging Rep. Schmidt in the 2nd District. Here's Hackett's official statement: "Today I am announcing that I...

As 2008 draws ever closer, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is working to win over many of the establishment party fundraisers and operatives who worked to ensure his defeat in 2000. Post chief political reporter Dan Balz wrote about this courting effort...

Scott Howell is the man Democrats love to hate. A Republican media consultant, Howell has been involved in some of the most high-profile (and nasty) Senate races in recent memory, including Sen. Saxby Chambliss's (R) 2002 defeat of Max Cleland...